Operation Heavy Hardware

Operation Heavy Hardware (20 August 1968) was a United States military operation in the Vietnam War that saw MACV-SOG and the 17th Marine Regiment destroy a force of 300 North Vietnamese troops hidden near Khe Sanh in a jungle and river valley.

Operation
Colonel Nicholas R. Caldwell of the 17th Marine Regiment cooperated with the MACV-SOG (Studies and Observations Group) to root out and destroy North Vietnamese Army troops concealed in the river valley near Khe Sanh, an operation that would weaken the NVA's hold on northern Vietnam. The Americans used B-52 bombers to blow up several NVA positions, securing grounds before they even arrived there with infantry. The US troops then moved in and wiped the NVA out, shooting down a Cobra helicopter belonging to the North Vietnamese. With 89 losses, the Americans killed 150 North Vietnamese.